Wherever you work and regardless of your business, safety is almost certainly a priority.
From selecting the most effective personal protective equipment (PPE) for the job to assisting in the development of programmes and protocols to managing activities and responsibilities in a high-risk environment, safety is frequently top of mind when considering how to protect yourself and others.
Behavior-based safety is a natural response to threats of all types; understanding how it works and why it exists can have a significant impact on your daily routine and contribute significantly to the development of safety procedures.
What is Safety Based on Behavior?
Humans have a built-in safety mechanism (think fight or flight) that has kept us out of difficulty, away from ancient predators, and away from any threats encountered in the modern workplace, regardless of the industry.
And yet, despite the alleged benefits of such a talent, it can become difficult to employ for many workers over time.
As workers gradually adapt to their work environment, their preservation instinct, their fight or flight mechanism, begins to wane. That makes sense, doesn’t it?
If you’ve adapted to your employment environment, you’ll notice that you’re no longer actively scanning for danger or perceived threats to your or others’ safety. You are familiar with the equipment, the tools, and the hazards – this is where you are placing your trust. Now, there is nothing wrong with that in moderation, nor does it mean that workplace risks are not to blame.
Certain workplaces and tasks will always be more hazardous than others, placing everyone at risk. Those who have spent more time in close proximity to those hazards should be able to react promptly and efficiently in the case of a potential accident.
The trick, however, is to avoid becoming too comfortable in any role, whether as an employee or an employer. By doing so and depending too much on established standards or personal expertise with equipment or methods, you can expose yourself and your coworkers to additional hazards, as well as constitute an active danger to yourself.
We’ve already discussed the importance of PPE and the fact that no glove or sleeve is really “cut proof”: you may rely on a certain level of protection or resistance, but accidents can happen. A similar approach might be applied here: established safety programmes will assist you in avoiding and mitigating risk up until something does go wrong.
When someone gets overly reliant on their own erroneous sense of security or disregards safety precautions, they can endanger others. This is where behavior-based safety training comes into play.
Consider the following:
Each incidence is preceded by [behaviour], for example, a worker falls off a ladder as a result of overreaching or the ladder being improperly secured. Both are distinct behaviours. [Behavior-based safety] aims to alter an individual’s thinking, habits, and behaviours in such a way that these “at risk” activities cease to be practised. As a result, the worker will be prevented from falling from the ladder…”
This indicates that while designing any type of health and safety programme, the individuals participating must be completely dedicated; otherwise, the programme will fail to be effective. The primary objective is to assure safety at all levels.
What Is Behavior-Based Safety Training and How Does It Work?
Regardless of industry or worker responsibility, it helps to visualise a workplace in motion to appreciate the significant impact worker behaviour plays in day-to-day operations.
How well does the workplace actually safeguard its employees? How well-versed are employees in pre-existing safety standards? How do people react to these assessments? And what happens if something does go wrong?
All of these criteria must be present for behavior-based safety instruction to be successful. While employees must understand their duties and responsibilities, supervisors must guarantee that employees receive the necessary training and tools to perform their jobs safely.
Priority is given to safety!
These possible workplace adjustments could range from the removal of hazardous or obsolete equipment to a simple chat with employees about how to further integrate best safety practises into the work environment to a total restructure of an organization’s safety culture.
Creating a Safety Culture
We’ve discussed the necessity of having a safety culture previously, but establishing one is not easy. It may be necessary for a business to temporarily alter its internal politics, productivity goals, or economic development in order to succeed.
When implemented properly, a safety culture demonstrates how safety is regarded and identified inside a firm, as well as how employees influence safety. If an injury occurs repeatedly in a work environment – in the same location and in the same style – it is beneficial to enquire why. What variables, if any, contribute to employees’ failure? What needs to be altered? And who bears responsibility?
This provides the foundation for every successful safety culture programme: A reassessment of present practise and what can be done to make it more accessible and thoughtful of people who use it on a daily basis.
While safety may be an organization’s outward brand, whether fair or not, the duty for truly mobilising it will always lie on the people within it, its employees.
Safety on the move.
Having “on-the-floor employees” participate actively in the formulation and implementation of such programmes enables them to not only be held accountable for their behaviour and actions when necessary, but also to motivate and engage their peers.
With responsibility at the forefront of both employees and management, a safety culture can become self-sustaining, dependent on its people and providing them with the opportunity to make a meaningful impact in their day-to-day work life.
Bringing Safety Behavior and Culture Together
Once a strong safety culture is formed, its consequences, most notably a more engaged, safety-conscious workforce, should become apparent.
It may not happen immediately, but some cultural shifts should begin to take hold soon. Employees should be better aware of workplace hazards and the associated PPE use, and everyone, including management, should have accident prevention plans and practises in place.
Wherever you work, safety should be a given. This is not a buzzword.